As is so often the case at this stage of the game, M. Night Shyamalan’s next movie is shrouded in mystery. We know that the man behind The Sixth Sense and Split has a new picture due out later this year and that it is a "psychological thriller set at a concert" titled Trap. Beyond that, not all that much has been said about it - until now that is! Josh Hartnett is one of the actors bringing Shyamalan’s next story to life and he recently spilled some tea on the project. However, we should make it clear that the emphasis is on some here.
Hartnett, who is coming off of a role in Christopher Nolan’s massive hit Oppenheimer, recently chatted with the folks at IndieWire. They managed to get a little something about Trap out of him. The actor was, for one, very complimentary of working with Shyamalan. Beyond that, he makes it clear we’re in for something bizarre and dark. Here’s what he had to say about it:
“It’s a pivot. But I try to make all of my roles pivots. If you’re playing the same thing again and again, it gets boring to the audience. Working with M. Night was one of the best experiences of my career. I think he’s a true Artist in the capitol-A sense of the word. And I think people are gonna be really surprised and excited about the movie we make. It’s very bizarre, very dark, and it’s wild.”
That, admittedly, doesn’t give us a lot to chew on, but it’s nice to hear that Shyamalan is getting less weird as time goes on. Then again, we are only a few years removed from the craziness that was Old, so there’s really no reason to believe that the filmmaker is going to abandon the outlandish now. As for what Shyamalan has said about it? Not much. But speaking to NME last year, he did describe his follow-up to Knock at the Cabin as a thriller and an unusual one, at least compared to what he’s been doing as of late.
“I have a new idea that I’ve started writing. It’s out in 2024 and it’s very, very exciting. It’s a thriller. It’s very unusual and very new compared to what I’ve been trying to do [recently], but I’m feeling very excited about the story, so much so that I can’t wait to tell it to you guys.”
Shyamalan had a rough run there for several years but he has been on a roll lately. His last five films - The Visit, Split, Glass, Old and last year’s Knock at the Cabin - have all been hits ranging from solid to massive. During that stretch, he’s delivered some of his best work and actors have been eager to sign up to work with him again. He also recently signed a deal to work with Warner Bros. on his future projects, which marks a shift given his longstanding relationship with Universal.
As for Hartnett, he is no stranger to the horror genre as one of his earliest roles was in Halloween H20, which he followed up with The Faculty. Some of his other genre credits include 30 Days of Night, Penny Dreadful and Black Mirror.
Trap is currently set to hit theaters on August 2.
